I witnessed George RR Martin's reaction at Game of Thrones play's world premiere

A week ago, Game of Thrones creator George RR Martin wrote his first personal blog post in six months. Fans were concerned to hear the almost 78-year-old describe just how stressful 2026 has been for him. In a few vulnerable paragraphs on his mental and physical health, the best-selling author confessed to being overwhelmed and having "battled sadness and depression”.

Clearly feeling the weight of his own mortality, he wrote, “The worst may be yet to come. I turned seventy-seven last September, and I tell you, getting old is no fun. But there have been amazing times as well. I suppose that’s just life. Of course, I knew that. If you’ve read my stories, you know that.”

Speaking of his stories, Martin has spent the last 15 years writing his penultimate A Song of Ice and Fire novel, The Winds of Winter. In the same amount of time between 1996 and 2011, he wrote the first five books. He’s also working on another Dunk and Egg short story, presumably to have material for the eventual fourth season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. He admits in his latest post that he keeps “falling further and further behind.”

This shouldn’t be too surprising given his other work commitments and the fact that he can only write his novels at home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on his old school MS-DOS computer, complete with 1980s word processor WordStar 4.0. A self-imposed rule. Additionally, he confessed back in January that if he doesn’t finish the last two Game of Thrones books, they won’t be completed as Brandon Sanderson did for Robert Jordan. Instead, the series will remain unfinished like Charles Dickens’ The Mystery of Edwin Drood. A fact that is all the more unsatisfying for fans, as Martin says his books will have a different ending to the HBO TV show, which had to rely on his planned plot points.

Fans continue to be split. One side is angry and resentful that they’ve invested so much time and money in reading the series, so they feel Martin owes them an ending for all his fame and fortune. Others say he should be left alone to take his time and point out that it’s his life; he doesn’t owe anyone anything. Whatever the case, the Game of Thrones franchise machine continues to rumble on with the first official theatrical production, The Mad King, which debuted at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon over the weekend.

I was in attendance with our theatre critic, whose review you can read here, on a glorious summer’s day in Shakespeare’s hometown. For the world premiere, it all felt quite understated as we milled around outside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. A couple of red carpeted step-and-turns were bookended by flaming torches, but surprisingly no major stars were in attendance – a PR missed opportunity given House of the Dragon’s season finale has just premiered. Maybe they're waiting for the inevitable West End transfer? At least Martin himself is making the most of his later life by attending, even if he is discreetly hidden inside with his bowler-hat-wearing security team.

Despite the underwhelming arrivals, there was much anticipation in the air as the staff gave us 'No Spoilers' stickers for our phone camera lenses, much like the Harry Potter and Stranger Things plays. We were sitting on the first floor of the Circle of this in-the-round production. And lucky for us, we had a full view of Martin downstairs in the stalls, almost directly opposite, for the entire play. Flanked by his dapper bodyguards and joined by his wife, Parris, Martin took a moment to wave to adoring fans behind him before taking his seat. Having smiled for the cameras outside, he was quite straight-faced throughout, not giving a huge amount away at first. Still, it was a surreal privilege to watch these much-loved characters come to life on stage in the same line of sight as the man who created them!

After a lengthy, but spectacularly immersive first half, Martin and his wife remained in their seats as the audience left for the interval. A few attendees stuck around to make small talk with the world-famous author, and he seemed to engage. All this seemed pleasant, with no heckles about finishing The Winds of Winter.

By the time we returned to our seats, the famous couple weren’t there, but did return for the second half of the course. And after an epic 3 hour and 40 minute performance, the Game of Thrones prequel play’s curtain call was met with a standing ovation. I looked over to Martin, who was still sitting. Was he not that impressed? But suddenly a great smile came across his face, the first I’d seen the whole time, as he stood to applaud the live cast of his creation. Given his latest blog post, it was pleasant to see his cheer. Hopefully, the positivity from the fans in the audience at that moment will spur him on rfor when he returns to his WordStar 4.0 upon his return home.